The invention relates to receptacles for the collection of mail and more specifically to receptacles used to catch mail inserted through a mail slot. Nearly every home and business address in the United States has some means established for the collection and temporary storage of United States mail. A common means consists of a slot mounted in a door or a front facing wall through which the mail is simply inserted and falls within onto the floor. A number of devices have been disclosed to prevent the mail from falling to the floor and to thereby assure that it is not misplaced, lost or soiled.
The patented prior art on the subject of mail receptacles which are used in conjunction with a slot through which the mail is inserted consists of a number of ingenious devices which fulfill the requirements of catching the mail, collecting it in one place and certain other functions which will become apparent in the following discussion. Examples of prior art patents include U.S. Pat. No. 359,458 to Moore in 1887, which teaches a simple hook-on type bag catcher, U.S. Pat. No. 454,298 to Shempp in 1891 which improves over Moore with a net bag such that mail can be seen without opening the bag, U.S. Pat. Nos. 732,229 and 894,376 to Field in 1905 and 1908 respectively, whereby the receptacle is a rigid open wire frame such that mail cannot be caught in the fabric, and whereby the frame collapses upon opening of the door, U.S. Pat. No. 1,482,459 to Cahan in 1922 of a rigid mail collection trough with for the removal of mail, U.S. Pat. No. 1,640,153 to Kolstad in 1924 of a mail bag which is opened by the action of lifting the outer slot cover, U.S. Pat. No. 1,756,559 to Knapp in 1930 of a combination mailbox, door knocker, house number and light, U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,620 to Ferrara in 1974 of a portable mail catching sling which can be closed, and finally U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,965 to Maddox, Jr. in 1978 of a mail slot pouch assembly having the advantages of fabric transparency and portability.
None of the prior art disclosures show a means for catching mail through a mail slot which is compatible with an overhead door such as a garage door which either swings or rolls from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation. It is the applicants opinion that the present invention is new in this respect.